The Toronto Maple Leafs picked up their first win of the season — and their first under head coach Jim Hiller — with a 2-1 victory over the New York Islanders at Scotiabank Arena on Sept. 30.
Rookie forward Easton Cowan led the way with a goal and an assist, while goaltender Anthony Stolarz stopped 26 of 27 shots to steady the Leafs one night after a season-opening loss in Montreal.
Toronto did its scoring in the first period, Hockey.com reported. Colton Sissons opened the account at 7:14, tipping a shot past Islanders netminder Ilya Sorokin, with Cowan drawing the primary assist.
Cowan then doubled the lead himself at 11:55, burying a rebound on the power play to make it 2-0.
Stolarz, who was named the starter earlier in the day, kept the Islanders off the scoresheet through the first 40 minutes. New York finally broke through late, when Emil Heineman scored shorthanded at 14:09 of the third period to cut the lead to one.
The Islanders pressed for the equalizer but couldn't solve Stolarz again, and the Leafs held on to improve to 1-1-0 on the young season. New York fell to 0-1-0 in its first game of the 2026-27 campaign.
Sorokin finished with 24 saves on Toronto's 26 shots, while the Islanders directed 27 shots at Stolarz in the losing effort.
Special teams played a role on both sides. The Maple Leafs scored on one of their four power plays and were a perfect four-for-four on the penalty kill, blanking every New York opportunity.
The result gives Hiller a win in just his second game behind the Toronto bench, a night after the Leafs dropped a 3-2 decision to the Montreal Canadiens to open the season.
For Cowan, the two-point night is an early sign of the offensive promise the Leafs have touted in the young forward, while Stolarz's 26-save performance gave Toronto the steady goaltending it needed on the second half of back-to-back games.
